Therapy & Trafficking Allizandra Herberhold

Circe by WASHU students

In this episode, I will be going over some of the most important points from each interview that was discussed. This is my final episode of the mini-series for my capstone project. It has been such an honor and pleasure to gain a deeper understanding about survivors experience with trauma and the recovery process. 

Hello everyone. Thanks for coming to listen to our last episode. It is a bittersweet feeling ending the mini-series but I do hope that we all learned something new. In the final episode, we will be interviewing Megan. She is a licensed clinical therapist with two Masters. She currently works as a Trauma therapist and licenced marriage and family therapist at a sexual assault center.

For my capstone project (at Washington University in Saint Louis) I aim to educate myself and the public on the truth about sex trafficking. After taking a Sex Trafficking course taught by Andrea Nichols, I knew I wanted to help in any way I can. In this episode, we discuss what sex trafficking really is, the disproportionate impact on black people, and the effects of the pandemic for victims. We touch on holistic and nontraditional forms of therapy used to help survivors with trauma and PTSD. 
Andrea has worked with victims of sex trafficking and their community since 2008. She has written multiple publications and books about the topic. She has lead multiple grant projects across the state of Missouri to help prevent and investigate human trafficking. As both an activist and educator she is more than well verses to weigh in on the topic.
List of Nichols' works:
Nichols, Andrea, Edmond, Tonya, and Heil, Erin. (Eds.) (2018). Social Work Practice with Survivors of Sex Trafficking and Commercial Sexual Exploitation. New York, NY: Columbia University Press.
Gerassi, Lara and Nichols, Andrea. 2017. Sex Trafficking and Commercial Sexual Exploitation: Prevention, Advocacy, and Trauma-Informed Practice. New York, NY: Springer Publishing.
Nichols, Andrea J. 2016. Sex Trafficking in the United States: Theory, Research, Policy and Practice. New York, NY: Columbia University Press.
Heil, Erin and Nichols, Andrea J. 2015. Human Trafficking in the Midwest: A Case Study of St. Louis and the Bi-State Area. Durham, NC: Carolina Academic Press.
Nichols, Andrea J. 2014. Feminist Advocacy: Gendered Organizations in Community-Based Responses to Domestic Violence. Lanham, MD: Lexington Books.

Hello and welcome to my capstone project! My name is Alli and I will be your host. I have combined the two courses from Washington University in Saint Louis that I am passionate about. By combing the two I have created the topic of "Counseling Perspectives for Victims of Sex Trafficking". My goal for my final project is to educate myself and others about the truth and impact behind sex trafficking and what we can do to help. 
My first interview is with Jess. She is an EMDR therapist. Previously, she worked at an eating disorder treatment center as the primary therapist. There she gained knowledge and experience with victims of sex trafficking and other sexual traumas. We do a deep dive into trauma related foods, EMDR therapy, attachment trauma, and the problems with telehealth due to the pandemic.